148 



FARMERS' REGIS TJER 



pea stubbles are prepared for wheat ; which is a 

 difficult operation on heavy land, when the object 

 is to get the seed early info the ground. The 

 labor which they require from the plough, roll, 

 and harrrow, was go great as to induce Mr. 

 Greg to use a powerlul grubber, or scarifier, ol' a 

 form which covers an entire land ; and it performed 

 so Avell that he has since continued to use it instead 

 of the plough, as lie found that he could thus sow 

 forty acres of wheat in a very lew days, regardless 

 of wemher, and at a sixth part of the expense. 



Having sown the wheat, the remainder of the 

 land intended for turnips is ploughed and dunged. 

 The ploughing is also perlijrmed for peas and 

 beans ; and it is desirable that these operations 

 should be completed before Cln-istnias. As soon 

 as the season turns, (he land which was ley, and 

 jnlendeil lor beans and peas, is scarified ; and when 

 the growing weather commences, the beans are 

 drilled at filteen inches lor the convenience of horse- 

 hoeing. The peas are next drilled ; but as these, 

 by falling over, preclude the possibility of hoeing 

 them more than twice, they are sown at intervals 

 oftwelve inches. 



As the ground is cleared of turnips, it is ploughed 

 into lands. In the spring, the barley is drilled in 

 rows of eighr inches — not leaving any space for 

 furrow — and the clover and rye-grass is sown up, 

 and then across the lands. 



As soon in May as weaihcr permits, and the sun 

 is sufficiently powerful to kill weeds, the scarifier 

 is set to work, succeeded by a strong harrow; 

 and having by these operations obtained cleanli- 

 ness, the first Ihvorable weather is made use of to 

 60W Swedish turnips, or, should they fail, they are 

 succeeded by while turnips, and in the event of a 

 further miscarriage, coleseed is sown. With these, 

 and the assistance of about ten loads of clover, 

 and ten weeks'' run on pasture in bad weather, 

 500 sheep are now kept on the farm, but lie en- 

 closed at night in a spacious and well-littered yard. 

 The fodder produced by straw and clover hay sup- 

 ports from Ibrty to fifty head of cattle, and nine 

 working horses are kept, which are soiled during 

 the entire summer: thus so large a quantity of 

 dung is made that no manure is purchased. 



in this manner 200 acres are ploughed between 

 harvest and Christmas, besides the cartage of 

 dung and other odd jobs on the (arm ; but this is 

 easily performed with the aid of the grubber, and 

 the land being entirely ploughed in the winter, 

 there is only the sowing of Lent corn to execute 

 in the spring: the horses are therelbre put upon 

 green food, by which a considerable saving is 

 made in the consumption of corn. Many other 

 details of management are given in Mr. Greg's 

 pamphlet, which is briefand well worthy of atten- 

 tion, but which we reli-ain from enumerating, as 

 we only meant to call attention to the extraodinary 

 Biaiement which it contains of such a system of 

 culture having been so successfully pursued upon 

 land ofthat nature, as to yield an average, during 

 six years, of the following crops, namely : 



per acre. 

 Wheat - - - 25 bushels. 

 Barley . . _ 40 " 



JBeans _ . _ 35 u 



Peas ... 30 " 



Clover twice cut - 2 tons. 



Thu?, after the deduction of rent and the interest of 

 2500/. capital, preaenling, upon an average of six 



years, a profit of 6711. 3s., or 21. 15s. lid. per 

 acre, and a result in favor of his mode of culti- 

 vation of no less than an annual difference amount- 

 ing to 638/. 13s.* 



Of the accuracy of the minute account thus fur- 

 nished by Mr. Greg, we liave no reason to doubt, 

 though we conless ourselves somewhat sceptical 

 regarding the justice of the conclusions whicli ho 

 has drawn resjjeciing the superiority of his own 

 plans over tiiose ol his neighbors ; lor every man, 

 however high his honor and imparlialiiy, is yet 

 unconsciously biased in liivor of any pursuit of 

 his own, and no farmer could live upon the profit 

 which he has assumed as ihat of cultivation under 

 the old plan. On a subject of such vital import- 

 ance to agriculture as liiat of the fiillow system, 

 we indeed deemed it prudent to ajjply to the pre- 

 sent Mr. Greg lor further inlbrmation, which he 

 readily afforded ; and, from recent personal com- 

 munication and correspondence, we are assured by 

 him, " that his uncle's system is still pursued upon 

 his farm with the best effect ; as is evinced by the 

 clean condition of the land, the heavy crops pro- 

 duced, and the quantities ofstock maintained. Tlie 

 only alteration of importance made in his mode of 

 cultivation subsequent to the publication of his pam- 

 phlet, was the sut^sliiulion ol a seven years' course, 

 in place ofthat of six years, by which he obtained 

 two crops of wheat — one on the clover ley, and 

 another after the beans and peas. The annual 

 course oi'cropping in the several years now, there- 

 fore, stands thus — 



1. Turnips, 6. Wheat. 



2, Jiariey. 6. Beans and peas. 

 3 and 4 clover 7, Wheal. 



No material alterationhas been made in the im- 

 plements; nor was any lallovv jjermiticd so long as 

 ihe late Mr. Greg's health allowed his sujierin- 

 tendence of the larm ; but ihe bailiff now occa^ 

 sionally fallows thejieid of the heaviest land : this, 

 however, is only resorted to when the land sown 

 with turnips has not been prepared in lime lor llie 

 barley crop, and only averages about 16 acres a 

 year out of 250.'' 



Beatson''s System. 

 Knowie Farm, in the neighborhood of Tun- 

 bridge VVells, which was a lew years ago in the 

 occupation of the late General Beatson, contains 

 about 300 acres of land, of which 112 are arable, 

 and is described as abounding with clay, and re- 

 tentive of surliice moisture, but when dried by the 

 summer heal it becomes as hard as a bricli, and 

 impervious to the plough, unless with a great 

 power of animal exertion, particularly as the gene- 

 ral mode is 10 plough deep. The established ro- 

 tation in that part of Kent and the neighboring 

 portion of Sussex is lallow, wheat, and oals, with 

 occasionally clover and rye grass ; and the hus- 

 bandry appears lo have remained unaltered for 

 ages, wiih the single exception of substituting 

 lime for manure instead of marl. Upon this sys- 

 tem the fiirm was managed during the general's 

 absence while governor of the Island of St. Hele- 

 na; and finding on his return, in the year 1813, 

 " that he had no cause to boast of its profit, he re- 



* It may, however, be observed, that at the period 

 when Mr. Greg's account was published, wheat sold at 

 9s. the bushel, or 50 per cent, more than it does at the 

 present period ; whilst the cost of labor, including the 

 increase of the poor's-rate, is scarcely reduced. 



